1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a water or food bowl or dish for household pets and in particular to an improved non-skid pet food or water bowl including a layer of non-skid material disposed over an undersurface.
2. Description of Prior Developments
One type of bowl commonly utilized for household pets is a molded plastic bowl. The advantages of the molded plastic bowl are quite obvious: a plastic bowl is inexpensive to manufacture; it can be molded in a variety of colors; it can be easily cleaned; and it can be dropped or otherwise misused without significant damage to its structure. For these cited reasons, plastic bowls have been preferred by the typical pet owner over bowls manufactured of non-plastic materials.
While certainly preferred, plastic bowls do have some disadvantages as compared to bowls manufactured of other materials such as metallic bowls. A significant disadvantage and one that is a function of the plastic material is that plastic bowls are generally much lighter in weight than the metallic bowls. The drawback of a light bowl is that it can be easily displaced or moved by a pet while the pet attempts to eat or drink making it difficult if not impossible for the pet to successfully nourish itself. Moreover the light weight of a plastic bowl make it quite easy for a household pet to topple or turnover the bowl resulting in an unwanted mess or hazardous condition.
In order to address the insufficiency in the weight of plastic bowls, various means have been employed to manufacture a heavier and more substantial bowl. One method employed has been to mold a plastic bowl with thicker and denser plastic walls; the benefit, of course, being that the added plastic results in a heavier bowl making it less susceptible to being displaced or moved by a pet during use. Another method employed, has been to mold a plastic bowl with an inner and outer wall so as to define a chamber between the walls. Within the chamber is provided some type of ballast material such as sand or cement making the bowl substantially heavier and thus difficult to displace during use. While these methods have been generally satisfactory, these bowls are generally more complicated to manufacture and/or may require more raw material and are consequently more costly to manufacture.
In lieu of weighting the bowls, some bowls have been fitted on their underside with a small resilient non-skid plastic or rubber piece or strip which is put in place after molding is completed in a secondary operation. The resilient strip which is in contact with the ground prevents the bowl from being easily slid by providing a friction force between the strip and the contact surface (ground). This technique, however, also adds significantly to the cost and is less than completely effective because only a small surface area of the bowl is equipped with the resilient material. Additionally as the resilient strips are generally only fitted onto the bowl, over time the resilient material will expand or deform to the point where it is no longer securely fixed to the bowl. Even where an adhesive has been used continued use will eventually result in the piece or strip separating altogether from the bowl.